Why Do We Generally Assume That “The Rich” Must Be Intelligent Too?

A lot of making money is privilege, accident, luck, and fleecing the government.

It has always seemed weird to me that we inherently (and almost 100% universally) associate he or she is affluent with he or she must be smart. Some of the absolute dumbest human beings I’ve ever met are very well-off. I know a guy in real estate — and admittedly real estate is a tanking market for this particular moment — but in 2021, he essentially unlocked the door for someone on a $900,000 home, got tied in as the “buyer agent,” and made 3% despite basically opening a door and filing some paperwork. Nothing else, and he openly admits that. If my math is right, that’s $27,000 for about two-three hours of work. The best lawyers in the entire world barely make that. Now, if that’s his only sale of the year, that would be troubling. But repeat that process 10 times — less than once per month — and you brought home $270,000 that year for limited work. A lot of people working at Living Spaces would like that.

Of course, then you can easily get into the argument of “Well, why don’t people at Living Spaces go become realtors?” That’s a valid argument and one that should be entertained. The short answer is: “Well, probably don’t go become a realtor at a time when Wells Fargo is…